Possession
by Kieno0324
Summary: A new case takes our crew to a temple. The ghost seems to have it in for teenage girls...but what does that mean when Naru, of all people, is possessed? Can the others protect Mai or will she be another victim of the ghost? NOW COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

I'm going to write this once. I don't own Ghost Hunt. If I did, Naru and Mai would have kissed already!! And this is my first multi-chapter fic...so be kind.

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Prologue

"Almost every teenage girl that is sixteen or seventeen years of age has turned up missing or dead after having visited the temple." said a grey haired lady sitting in the offices of SPR. Mai Taniyama, part time worker, handed the woman a cup of tea. The woman, whose name was Senata Hiro, was sixty-eight years old and Kurarugi Shrine owner. And deeply distressed.

Apparently over the past three weeks Ms. Hiro's temple had been having a strong of case'bad luck' as any girl that was in her middle or late teens turned up missing when she was staying at the temple, only two had turned up dead. The police were looking for a suspect. But Ms. Hiro apparently suspected something else at work.

"Why do you think this has anything to do with the paranormal, Ms. Hiro?" Naru asked and Mai looked at him. Chalk it up to Naru to not believe anything his potential client might have to say. Mai had a sneaking suspicion that Naru liked to stay in his office more than he would with helping solve mysteries.

"Because a week ago my niece woke up screaming like a banshee would, Mr. Shibuya." the woman's voice had turned as cold as steel and Mai realized that Naru had hit a nerve. Mai also had a feeling this was _not_ a woman many people argued with. "Both her arms were covered in scratches and not from a cat either. These were caused by human nails and my niece's room is the only room with a lock."

Mai looked at Naru for his reaction and saw none. Mai had expected something from the man since he had just been told off by his future client. But then she saw that spark in his eyes and she knew. He was going to accept but she couldn't decide why. She couldn't decide between he was interested in the case or he was interested in the woman that had just beat him in a verbal match.

"Well, Ms. Hiro….I must admit you've captured my interest and trust me…I don't say that lightly. We'll arrive at the temple around noon. We'll need a room to set up our equipment, can that be arranged?" Ms. Hiro barely had time to nod before Naru disappeared into his office and Mai gave a cheerful smile as she walked the woman to the door.

"He's a handful. How do you put up with him?" Ms. Hiro asked and Mai laughed at the blunt question. She realized that she would work well with the elderly woman. After all she wasn't afraid to tell Naru off. A good friend to have, especially when Naru went into one of his 'I'm-holier-than-though-so-don't-mess-with-me-or-I'll-kill-you' moods that Mai would love to punch him out of.

"A lot of patience. And the fact that he signs my paycheck." Mai said with a smile and Ms. Hiro chuckled before she pulled her coat on.

"I guess that would be a bonus, Ms. Taniyama." the woman said and Mai just nodded before the woman opened the door.

"Please…call me Mai. Everyone else does. It'll be weird to have you calling me by my last name when everyone else calls me by my first name." Mai said and the woman stopped in the doorway before giving a smile that Mai recognized as a grandmother's smile.

"Alright then, but you have to call me Senata." Senata said before closing her door and Mai smiled brightly at the closed door before she heard someone clear her throat and Mai turned to see that Naru was glaring at her.

"Mai, tea." he snapped before shutting the door. Was it just her imagination or did he shut the door a little more firmly than normal?

* * *

Mai felt her jaw drop as she stood with Naru, Lin, and Takigawa in front of the temple entrance. Ayako was already in the temple, located at the top of nearly eighty steps. No wonder Senata had seemed to be in such good shape for a sixty year old. She had been climbing those steps all her life.

"Naru….you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking." Takigawa told the young boss as he opened the back of the van which was parked in front of Takigawa's black SUV. Naru just glanced at the monk before he reached inside and handed Mai a box of cables and Mai looked at him.

"Take those to the base room and make sure Ms. Hiro has tables set up for the equipment. Don't bother coming back down to help. We can take care of it." Mai sent a look at Takigawa who looked as though he was ready to commit murder. She didn't blame him. Naru had enough equipment to make at least three trips to the van if not four down the eighty steps.

'Times like these I'm glad I was born a girl.' Mai couldn't help thinking with a grin as she started her trip up the steps. Ten minutes later she reached the top breathing heavily. She looked over her shoulder and tried to keep from giggling as she saw Takigawa struggling up the steps with two monitors. Mai also noticed that while Lin was starting to climb Naru was making no motion to help.

'Free loader.' Mai thought. 'I guess being boss has some advantages.'

"Mai!" the brown haired girl turned to see Ayako and Senata standing at the doorway entering into the temple. They motioned for her to follow and she did so and felt her eyes widen at the room that Senata told her was the base room.

It looked as though it were the dining room, or at least had been, before Senata had moved the table away and had put up several taller tables with folding chairs. Mai had a sneaking suspicion that Ayako had gotten there early enough to help Senata set the room up. After all Ayako was the one that had suggested Senata seek SPR's help after her niece had been attacked.

"Help…me…" came a strangle voice and all three women whirled around to see Takigawa slumped against the door frame looking exhausted. Mai rushed to his aide while Ayako followed at a more moderate pace to help Mai set up the monitors.

By the time everything was set up Takigawa had collapsed to the floor and refused to move. No matter how much Ayako tried to get him up. Even when Mai promised to make cookies he still refused to move.

"Hey, how come Masako isn't here?" Mai asked curiously. She didn't mind that the psychic wasn't there but she decided it would be rude if someone didn't ask. After all she could've been in an accident or something that no one knew about.

"She's…busy." Naru said slowly and Mai frowned. He never answered that slowly to anything. It was almost like he really didn't know what the answer was to her question. She shrugged it off, deciding that if he didn't want to tell her the truth then that was his business.

Mai followed Senata into the kitchen that the temple had and was impressed at how modern it was. It had an electric stove, and thank the heavens a coffee maker! Mai could have done the happy dance right then and there. While everyone else liked tea in the morning, she like tea don't get her wrong, the beverage just did not have enough caffeine to get her started in the morning. What she needed was black coffee and it looked like she was going to get it!

"Now, I decided that since you are all guests here at the temple that I'm going to do something I haven't done since my brother bought his house. I'm going to cook a good old fashioned Japanese dinner. And you're my helper!" Senata winked and Mai giggled.

She went to the cupboards to get the pans that Senata had told her to get before she got a strange feeling that she was being watched. She peered out the window and froze as she saw a girl, maybe her age, staring at her. Mai realized that she could see through the girl and into the forest that surrounded the temple. The girl pointed at Mai with a slim white finger.

Mai felt something constrict in her chest. She felt her lungs stop and her heart quiet beating. By medical standards she was dead. She looked at the girl before the ghost seemed startled and disappeared and Mai took in a large amount of air. And that's when the screaming started.


	2. Chapter 1

See Prologue for Disclaimer. For those fans of my 'Return' stories I am currently working on the proposal, the _real_ last one, but it's taking me a little while. I'm also working on Masako and John's story. Oh, and by the way, this had nothing to do with that series, okay! Please R&R!

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Chapter 1

Mai followed Senata out of the kitchen as they ran towards the screaming. Mai stopped in the doorway of the room where the screaming had come from. Sitting on the floor of the bedroom was a young girl with platinum blonde hair. Mai frowned as the girl had Asian features and yet even her eyebrows were blonde. Senata was hugging the girl who was crying and that's when Mai saw the red, ugly writing on the wall.

'Both of you are next!' Mai felt a shiver go down her spine when Naru entered the room and looked at the writing before frowning and turning to Senata and her niece, who had finally calmed down.

"Is there somewhere you can send her for a couple of days? The Miko and Monk we have with us are fairly certain that whatever is causing this problem cannot leave the temple grounds." Naru finally said and Senata sighed before nodding.

"Yes, she can go stay with her grandmother. You can stand her for a few days can't you, Kira?" Senata asked the girl. She just nodded and Mai wondered why she wouldn't speak but shrugged it off. Maybe she was too spooked to speak. Mai couldn't blame her; if writing suddenly appeared on her wall like that she'd be screaming as well.

"Mai, set a camera up in here and then set one up in Ms. Hiro's room and the training hall." Naru said before leaving with Lin following him and Mai felt her eye twitch angrily. She was going to make it her mission to teach him how to say please once the case was over. He was _not_ going to get his way _every_ time he wanted something without saying _please_.

'Sure, Naru-chan, while I'm at it why don't I do your laundry!' she thought angrily as she stomped into the base room where Naru was reading over the case file. She picked a camera up and made sure to slam the door with the heel of her foot when she left causing him to look up with a frown.

"Well, you did it again." Lin said from where he was typing diligently and Naru sent him an angry glare. Why did the man wait for everyone to leave before he started to talk? Naru looked back down at his file but found it hard to concentrate. He growled before slamming the paper onto the table he was sitting at.

'Dammit! Why can't she just take orders and stay the hell out of my thoughts?' Naru snarled at himself. Anyone looking at him would have never known that he was having an inner argument. Not even Lin would be able to tell should he glance at the very still young man.

* * *

"OUCH!!" Mai cried as she pricked her finger on the camera. She wasn't exactly sure how she had done it while setting the camera up in Senata's niece's room. She looked at her finger and watched as a thin trail of blood trailed down her finger and dripped onto the floor. She sighed before sticking her finger in her mouth while making sure the camera was hooked up properly and working.

She left the room and crashed into someone. She looked up to see that her victim had been Takigawa who still looked tired after his run in with the stairs. She sent him an apologetic look before helping him to his feet.

"Another episode of 'Naru doesn't say please so Mai takes it out on the rest of us pour souls'?" Takigawa asked and Mai felt her cheeks flame before she looked down at her feet sadly and she felt the tears come on and Takigawa sighed before hugging her.

"I'm sorry, Takigawa. It's just it would be nice if every once in a while he said please and now my finger hurts because I pricked it on that stupid camera and I don't even know how!" Mai mumbled before pulling away. Takigawa rolled his eyes before taking her hand and wrapping it with one of his handkerchiefs.

"Well….Naru is Naru for a reason, Mai. Don't get so upset by him." Takigawa winked at Mai and the girl smiled before nodding. The monk was right; she couldn't let Naru get to her. Even if she did love him she shouldn't let his cold attitude change how _she_ acted.

"Now there's the smile I know. Come on, let's go see if-" Takigawa was cut off by another scream and Mai looked startled as they both knew that scream. It was Ayako and Mai wasn't surprised at how fast Takigawa took off in the direction of the scream. Mai followed just as quickly and she froze as they reached the kitchen.

Ayako was standing in the corner of the kitchen, shaking, looking at the body lying on the floor. Mai gasped as she realized it was Senata's niece and her head was quickly becoming covered in blood! Without a second thought Mai called an ambulance and went to the girl, trying to figure where the blood was coming from.

* * *

The wail of the sirens was giving Mai a headache. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Senata and Naru were talking. Well, Senata was talking and Naru was listening while nodding his head. Mai snickered.

'Score: Two points for Senata. Zero points for Naru. Don't take it to hard Naru. She is much _wiser_ than you!' Mai thought deviously as Senata got into the ambulance and it sped down the roadway. Mai looked up as Ayako came stomping down the stairs looking angry and she was surprised when the miko stopped in front of Naru.

"Hey, Naru! Masako just called me to see how the case was going and when I asked her why she wasn't here you know what she said?" Ayako growled and Mai blinked. Hadn't Naru told them why Masako wasn't there? She was busy, right? "She said that you told her not to come because you didn't want her to become a target of the ghost!"

"She is sixteen, Matsuzaki-san." Naru said in his normal voice and Mai flinched before looking up at him with tears in her eyes and if she had been looking closely enough she would have seen him stiffen at her gaze.

"But I'm sixteen, Shibuya-san." she hoped the use of his last name would show him just how angry and hurt she was. She had never thought that he would intentionally put her in harm's way. It seemed she was wrong.

"I know that, Mai." she frowned before glaring up at him through her bangs and everyone's eyes went wide as Naru's head turned with the force of her slap.

"Don't you ever call me 'Mai' again like you care! I hate you! I HATE YOU!!" Mai fled up the stairs and everyone watched as the brown haired girl disappeared up the stairs.

Mai could feel the tears pouring down her cheeks as she reached the top of the stairs. She had heard what he said but she knew what he really meant. 'I know you're sixteen, Mai, but you're much easier replaced.' She choked on her sobs as she went to her room and slid to the floor as sobs kept coming.

"_Are you Mai?_" the brown girl looked up and gasped as standing in her room was the ghost girl she had seen outside the kitchen.

"Wh-who are you?" Mai whispered, her earlier anger forgotten for the time being as the ghost seemed to glide closer. She could feel that same tightness in her chest that she had felt earlier and she wondered if she would stop breathing.

"_Who I am doesn't matter to you. You've been targeted by _him_ and _he_ will use any means or methods to kill you. _He_ wanted the niece_ _but _he's_ decided that you'll do, Mai._" the ghost whispered before she disappeared and Mai heard a scratching and turned to look at the wall of her room and whimpered as words began to appear.

'Die, little one. DIE!' she shook her head as the tears came back and not because she was angry. Her door opened suddenly and she was startled to see Lin standing there. He took one look at the wall and then at Mai crouching on the floor before grabbing the girl and dragging her out of the room.

Mai followed him in silence until they were in the base room, which Mai was glad to see Naru was currently absent from. She had no desire to be around the man, especially after what had just happened in her room.

"Mai, did it hurt you?" Mai looked up stunned at Lin's concern. She briefly wondered how he could stand to have his hair in his eyes before she nodded and looked down at her hands.

"No. I don't think it's gotten to that stage yet. I think first it just threatens its victims and then terrorizes them with small bumps and bruises and then it gets to the serious stuff, like Senata's niece's head wound." Mai whispered softly and Lin sighed before the door opened and they both looked up to see Naru standing there. Mai was secretly pleased to see the reddened handprint on his face.

"Sayonara, Lin-san. Monk-san can help me finish setting the cameras up, I left them in Kira's room." Mai said looking at the older man the whole time without glancing at Naru once. She walked past Naru and neither of them said anything.

"What happened to your face?" Lin asked and Naru snorted while looking away from his older assistant.

"Mai found out that I warned Hara-san." he replied and Lin felt like strangling the young man.

"And you didn't find it necessary to tell Mai that she could be in potential danger?" Lin questioned hotly. Naru looked at him surprised before looking away, almost like he was ashamed and Lin had to strain his ears to hear what Naru whispered.

"I always protect her, though." Naru whispered and Lin knew he wasn't supposed to hear but he did. And if he hadn't been so angry with the younger man he probably would have teased him.

"Well, count this as a failure, Naru. She's been targeted and it's your fault because you didn't warn her that she would be the prime candidate." Lin said as he turned away and sat down in front of her computer and he was surprised when suddenly Naru had him by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you say?" Naru hissed and Lin grabbed the back of Naru's hand and pulled away before glancing at the obviously angry boy.

"She's been targeted. I set a camera up in her room and I saw her talking to _something_. I switched to thermal mode and saw a very blue figure. The figure disappeared suddenly and I saw words appearing on the wall. I ran to her room and if I had to estimate the temperature I'd say about 20 degrees." Lin reported and he saw Naru take a step back. Lin turned back to his computer.

"If she gets hurt because of this, Naru, Takigawa won't be the only one after your life. I'll help him. Mai's a sweet kid and she's grown on all of us." Lin threatened. He was answered with the slamming of a door.


	3. Chapter 2

Okay, here is chapter 2...read the AN at the end and see prologue for Disclaimer.

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Chapter 2

Naru made sure to go towards the training hall of the temple where he knew Mai was. He was going to give her a piece of his mind and he wasn't going to feel guilty if she did cry because of it. She was his assistant, dammit, not his friend! He reached the training hall and was about to enter when laughter made him freeze.

"Ah!! Monk-san, that doesn't go there! Stop it, AH!" Naru heard a thump and he frowned before cracking the door open. Mai was sitting on the floor and Naru saw that Takigawa had Ayako's suitcase and was rummaging through it for something. Naru felt his frown deepen, it was time to tell those two to grow up.

"Ayako is going to hang you from a tree and shoot you!" Mai said as she crawled over to where Takigawa was sitting with the suitcase in his lap. Naru was determined to go inside and tell them off and yet for some reason his feet wouldn't move as he watched as Mai and Takigawa laughed over something. Why couldn't she smile at him like that?

'Because you don't treat her like a human being?' said a nasty little voice and Naru growled before shutting the door and stalking back to the base room. He said nothing for the rest of the day working himself in the deepest rage he had ever been in.

* * *

Ayako blinked her eyes opened and looked over to where Mai was sleeping, everyone had agreed that she should stay with Ayako. Especially after they heard about the writing on the wall incidence. Ayako shot up when she saw that Mai was not in her bed!

Ayako grabbed her watch and saw that it was five am in the morning. She groaned, what was the girl doing out of bed so early. Deciding she should see if Mai was in the bathroom Ayako forced herself to leave her bed. She walked out of the room and saw that the bathroom door was opened and the light was off.

'Oh, great. Where did that girl go? I swear if she left because of Naru I'm going to kill that boy!' Ayako thought as she stalked through the hallways before a light caught her eye and she saw it was coming from the kitchen. She entered and she felt her mouth drop open.

Mai was fixing breakfast. She was still in her pajamas and she didn't look as though she had slept very long before trying to fix breakfast. Ayako cleared her throat and Mai jumped before turning with a bowl in her hand and she smiled as she saw it was the miko.

"Ayako! I hope I didn't wake you up. I just couldn't get to sleep, sorry. I know I was supposed to wake you up and tell you if I was going somewhere but you seemed to be sleeping pretty deeply. So I figured if I didn't go to far then you wouldn't worry!" Mai said with a smile. In reality there was a very good reason that she didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to see Naru in her dreams, she was sick of the man and had already decided that she was going to quit once they returned to the office.

"Mai…you can't let this Naru thing make you lose sleep." Ayako said as she went over and gently took the bowl from Mai. She put a hand on top of Mai's head and the younger girl looked at the floor as tears threatened.

"I know, Ayako. But...I want…I want him to treat me like a human being…is that so much to ask, Ayako?" Mai whispered and the red headed woman sighed before tipping Mai's head up and was surprised to see the tears trailing down Mai's face.

"Alright, stop this. Come on, let's go back to sleep." Ayako led the crying girl out of the kitchen after they had cleaned up whatever Mai had been making. Ayako stayed up with her until she went to sleep before she fell back into her own dream world.

DREAM

Mai was surrounded in darkness. She knew what the dream was and she would've done anything to wake up. She saw him walking towards her as everything finally came into focus. She saw she was standing in front of the temple. She felt Naru standing beside her and she turned to look at him.

"Mai…" she held her hand up and glared at him and she saw that he seemed to be slightly stunned at her raising her hand to cut him off.

"Do _not_ call me Mai ever again, Naru. And I would appreciate it if you left me alone in my dreams. I certainly do not need _your _help!" she hissed. He took a step back before disappearing and Mai dropped her head and felt tears in her eyes but she blinked her eyes and refused to let the tears spill.

'He didn't tell you that you would be in danger! He _intentionally_ put you in danger!' Mai thought before she heard a scream and she was suddenly in a room and the ghost girl that had been visiting her was sitting on the floor of Kira's room, holding her chest.

"Oh my god, you're bleeding!" Mai cried as she kneeled beside the girl but she realized that the girl couldn't see her.

"You really shouldn't have meddled in something that you don't belong in." said a male voice. Mai looked up in the direction of the voice and saw the barrel of the gun but couldn't see the man holding it. She screamed as a loud bang echoed through the air.

END DREAM

Mai's eyes popped open and she sighed. She sat up and saw that Ayako was getting dressed. She kept from groaning, getting up meant facing Naru. And facing Naru meant she had to talk to the jerk which was something that she did not want to do.

* * *

Mai was writing down the numbers on the screens in the base room, she wasn't exactly sure where Lin was, and she looked up as she heard the door open. She turned her head away when she saw it was Naru. She felt him move over to her and she handed him her clipboard.

"I asked Ms. Hiro about the dream you had, Taniyama. She said there was a teenage girl fitting that description that had been shot by her cousin fifty years ago because she found out he was a drug runner and threatened to tell her father. Apparently he planted a curse somewhere on the shrine grounds." Naru told her as he looked over the temperatures that she had been copying down.

"I see. The only temperature that seems to be abnormal is the one in Kira's room and that's where I saw that girl be murdered, Shibuya-san." Mai replied. She heard Naru sigh before he handed her the clipboard back.

"When you get done with that, record the size of each room. I'm going to send Lin for the cameras that only record thermal images. I need to know how many we need." he replied before going back to the table.

"Yes, sir." Mai said. She quickly recorded them before frowning as a shiver went down her spine. She felt as though the temperature was dropping rapidly in the base room and she rubbed her arms. She was debating on whether she should go get her sweater when she made the mistake of looking at Naru, who didn't seem to care that the temperature was dropping rapidly. Either that or it was her imagination.

'It's cold! I know, I'll give him these measurements, go get my sweater, and not come back!' Mai thought before she stood up after having made sure that all the numbers were right before handing the clipboard to Naru. She saw him look it over before she turned away to leave the room. THUMP!!!

She whirled around and blinked as she saw Naru sitting on the ground against the wall. His chair was turned over and he was rubbing his head. Mai wasn't sure if she should go over to him or leave. She had a really strong desire to leave before Naru looked up and she saw his eyes were very narrowed and he had an ugly smirk on his face.

"Look what we have here." he said and Mai began to back away before gasping as suddenly Naru's hands were around her throat. He began to squeeze tightly while lifting her off the floor and she clawed at his hands as he started to crush her throat.

'Naru…stop it….Monk-san…Lin….anybody….help!' she thought before Naru tightened his grip and her vision began to turn black from lack of oxygen.

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Oohh...cliff hanger! I'm trying to write this as fast I can but end of the year testing is coming up so I might not be able to update at my normal speed! But keep reviewing! I loved reading them!


	4. Chapter 3

Ducks objects being thrown Okay, okay, okay!! I get it! No more cliff hangers...at least for now. Remember to see the prologue for the disclaimer and remember to review! I know I sound like a broken record but reviews seriously make me smile and get all warm inside.

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Chapter 3

"NARU!!!" Mai barely had enough consciousness to watch as Lin and Takigawa pulled Naru off her. She began to cough and struggled to get oxygen through her bruised throat and into her lungs. She watched as Naru tried to throw Lin and Takigawa off.

Suddenly Takigawa punched the younger man in the stomach and Naru's eyes closed. Mai felt hands on her shoulders and she looked back to see Ayako kneeling beside her and she threw herself into the older woman's arms and began to sob into her chest.

"What the hell is going on?" Takigawa asked as he and Lin laid Naru down on the floor. Mai told them what happened and Takigawa and Lin exchanged glances as it fit into place.

"Great. Sounds like that wonderful ghost that has it in for teenage girls has possessed Naru and now Naru wants to kill Mai!" Takigawa sighed before feeling a glare on his back and he turned to see Ayako glaring at him as she held the sobbing Mai.

"Could you possibly be less delicate, you baka?!" Ayako hissed as she rubbed the girl's back up and down. Takigawa sweat dropped before he turned to look at Lin who was checking Naru's pulse and his pupils.

"His pulse is strong. But it doesn't matter if he is unconscious….he's still possessed. We'll have to perform an exorcism." Lin told him and Takigawa shook his head.

"No way. I am not going to exorcise that ghost…maybe we should call John. He is better at it than me. Let me exorcise a ghost that isn't possessing someone and I'll be fine! Exorcise a ghost from a human…not my territory." Takigawa said pointedly and Lin sighed.

"Brown-san is in Australia. He informed Naru and myself that his mother had come down with the flu and he went to take care of her." Lin said and Takigawa's mouth dropped open before looking down at Naru and groaning.

"Then how the hell are we supposed to get that damned ghost out of him?" Takigawa demanded. Lin rolled his eyes before standing up and pulling his cell phone out.

"I'll call Brown-san. Watch over him and if he wakes up…keep him away from Mai." Lin said before walking out of the room. Mai stayed in Ayako's arms as they stood up. She looked at Naru fearfully, scared to see that expression on his face again. He didn't want to see his face contorted in that smirk again.

"Mai, your throat is beginning to bruise." Ayako said and Mai sniffled as she wiped her tears away. She looked at Naru worried. She didn't know what Naru was going through being possessed.

"What…what if John can't exorcise the ghost? What if that…_thing_ stays in Naru?! What if…what if it tries to kill Naru?!" Mai cried as hysteria began to set in and she couldn't stop sobbing before suddenly Ayako slapped her and she looked at the priestess and took in large gulps of air.

"Don't worry, Mai-chan. John is the best exorcist that I know and trust me, I know a few. So maybe they aren't all Catholic but they are exorcists." Takigawa said with a wink and Mai smiled before nodding.

"I'm going to go lie down." Mai whispered before leaving the room with her arms wrapped around her body. Takigawa and Ayako watched her leave before turning to look at each other.

"How sure are you that the ghost won't follow Mai if we send her home?" Ayako asked the monk and he sighed.

"If it can possess _Naru_ of all people then I have a feeling that it could follow her wherever she goes. We need to get rid of that ghost so that Mai won't be in danger anymore. We need to get John here so that he can exorcise the ghost and then we can get rid of it." Takigawa said and Ayako nodded before she shot a look at the unconscious Naru.

"Well, we have to keep him 'shut down' I guess. I'll go make a sleeping drink. It'll be able to keep him asleep for a few hours at least." Ayako said as she left and Takigawa watched her go before turning back to the man lying on the floor. He sighed softly.

'I sure hope Naru and Mai are going to be able to work this out.' he thought.

* * *

Mai was still shaking from her encounter with Naru. She touched the bruises on her throat as she lay underneath her cover. She sniffed back tears as she clutched at her cover tightly. She could still see his face as he tried to kill her. She curled into a tighter ball. Naru had tried to kill her!

'You give up to easily.' his voice echoed from the end of the case at Yasuhara's school. Mai closed her eyes as the tears silently rolled down her cheeks. She had accused him of being a murderer then as well. But he had never physically tried to harm anyone there either.

'I know I give up easily, Naru. But what else do I have to go on besides your snide comments and the way you treat me? I mean, you brought me here knowing that I could be a target.' Mai thought before turning onto her back and looking up at the ceiling and she shivered before sitting up as a familiar tightness spread through her lungs and she was unsurprised to find the girl ghost standing there.

"Before I say anything else to you, I want to know your name!" Mai demanded and she was surprised when the girl gave a laugh.

"_My name is Satchi Cho._" the girl replied and Mai shivered as she felt the temperature began to drop in the room because of the spectral being that she was currently conversing with.

"Well, Satchi…this ghost that's possessed my boss, the black haired guy, what do you know about him?" Mai asked.

"_Nothing. He was my cousin and I caught him sneaking drugs into the temple and he shot me. I know he's placed a curse on the temple so that his spirit will kill all teenage girls that set foot on the property. I was trying to warn you and that other girl. They finally sent the blonde haired one away but they didn't send you. Although it took that injury from my cousin's spirit to finally get the other one away._" Satchi looked upset that they hadn't sent Mai away.

"Well, you can thank Naru for not sending me away. He didn't even mention that I would be a potential target!" Mai grumbled and she looked up as Satchi laughed and she frowned at the ghost girl.

"_I know why he didn't send you away. I was listening after you stormed out and he said something like 'I can protect her' and fine job he's done of it to. He goes and gets himself possessed by the man that's trying to kill you. That's brilliance if I have ever seen it._" the ghost said and Mai felt her cheeks start to redden slightly.

"Naru wants to protect me?" she whispered as her heart began to pound in her chest before she realized that she had slapped him! "Oh, no! He's going to hate me forever! I have to go apologize!" she was cut off as the girl ghost placed herself in front of the door.

"_I hate to remind you but this 'Naru' is still possessed by _him_. And until your exorcist friend shows up it's going to be staying that way. You have got to stay away from that boy._" the ghost said and Mai realized she was right and sighed.

"MAI!" Mai blinked as the door opened and Ayako was standing there looking rather rushed and Mai wondered what was wrong. "Mai, I went back to the base room and found Takigawa on the floor unconscious and Naru is nowhere to be found!"

"What?! You don't know where Naru is?! That ghost might get him killed!" Mai tried to run out before Ayako caught her arm and Mai looked back at the priestess who was glaring at her.

"You can't go _looking_ for him! He might kill you, Mai. Now Senata has set up the shrine for you and me to stay in while Lin and Takigawa look for him. John is taking the next flight out of Australia so he'll get here around midnight." Ayako said as she began to drag the brown headed teenager towards the actual shrine.

'Naru…please….be okay.' Mai thought as she stumbled after the priestess.

* * *

"How many places can a teenage boy hide?!" Takigawa growled as they looked in the basement, the only place they hadn't looked. Lin didn't respond as he directed the beam of his flashlight into the darker corners of the temple basement.

Takigawa rubbed his head where Naru had hit it rather hard with a chair. He had been stupid enough to turn away from the 'unconscious' boy for a moment and next thing he knew he was being shook awake by Ayako looking fearful. They had all known where Naru would go and thankfully Ayako had gotten to Mai first and got her into the shrine protected by talismans.

"Don't forget Naru is dressed in all black and it makes him a lot harder to detect." Lin told the monk and Takigawa groaned.

"Takigawa, Lin, are you guys down there?" Takigawa looked over his shoulder and felt his jaw drop as Mai was standing on the steps looking down at them from the top of the steps.

"Mai, what are you doing out of the shrine?" Lin demanded as he walked to the bottom of the steps to look up at the brown headed girl who didn't seem to be all that upset, despite the fact that her boss was prowling the grounds somewhere wanting to kill her. No she seemed perfectly fine.

"The shrine doesn't have a bathroom, Lin-san. I just wanted to make sure you two were okay." she said before Lin saw a shadow move behind her.

"MAI, WATCH OUT!!" Takigawa called before watching as Mai fell down the stairs and on top of Lin. Takigawa looked up and saw Naru up there, chuckling, before suddenly the man disappeared.

"Are you two alright?" Takigawa asked as Mai got off Lin and the Chinese man looked up. Takigawa glanced at the top of the steps and shook his head. "Dammit, he got away again."

"Naru…" whispered a soft voice and both men looked at Mai to see she had wrapped her arms around her knees and had her head resting on them. The men exchanged looks and the same thought passed through their minds.

'We need to find Naru for Mai's sake.'

* * *

Wonder if they'll ever get Naru back? Will John get there in time to stop Naru? Or is Mai going to go off and do something about it by herself? Wait and see! 


	5. Chapter 4

Wow, two updates in one day. Well there's a reason for that. Our TV service went out so all I had to do was look at the computer screen! You know the routine with the reviews and the disclaimer. Kieno0324 out!

* * *

Chapter 4

"Mai, where did you go?!" Ayako cried as Lin and Takigawa, each with a hand on Mai's shoulders, led the girl back into the shrine which had been transformed into a bedroom, the new base, and a kitchen by Senata and Ayako. Both women looked worried as Lin and Takigawa made Mai sit down in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Taniyama-san decided that she was going to see if we were alright while being hunted by Naru." Lin said coldly while glaring down at Mai who refused to look anywhere but her feet. She could feel everyone's glares.

"Mai, we made if very specific that you go to the bathroom and you come straight back! If something went wrong you were supposed to scream. Going to check on the boys was not part of the plan!" Ayako scolded and Mai dropped her head even further at the anger in Ayako's voice.

Lin's cell phone suddenly rang and everyone listened as he answered. He did very little talking and agreed a few times to whoever was on the other end of the line. Mai looked away as Lin looked at her before saying good-bye to who he was talking to before he hung up.

"That was Brown-san. He said that he would be here by tomorrow morning. I have to go pick him up at the airport. Now, Mai…why did you come to check on Takigawa and myself?" the Chinese man demanded and Mai put her hand to her forehead before running her hand through her hair.

"I…was worried about Naru. What if the ghost kills him? I'll never get to tell him that I'm sorry for hitting him! I don't want him to think that I hate him because no matter how angry he makes me I can't hate him!" Mai cried and everyone blinked before suddenly Ayako's got a mischievous look on her face.

"I know!" Ayako cried and Mai felt her cheeks flame as she knew that Ayako realized what she meant. But thankfully the priestess decided to keep quiet and Mai kept thanking her quietly.

* * *

Mai slowly sat up from her makeshift bed on the floor of the shrine. She glanced around and made sure everyone was sleeping soundly. Both Takigawa and Lin were even asleep. Making as little as noise as possible she stood up and pulled her clothes on before slipping out of the shrine after grabbing a flashlight.

She quietly slipped out and headed for the main house. She wondered where Naru would hide, thinking that she had a good chance of being able to get the ghost out of Naru. Or at least being able to communicate with the real Naru for a moment if nothing else. And if that didn't work then at least John would be arriving today.

'If I can't get through to him I hope the hospital, if I even go there, will give me really good pain killers.' Mai thought as she walked through the main house, with her shoes off, looking for any signs of Naru.

"Mai…" the girl whirled around as she head someone whisper her name. She could feel her heart pounding as she saw that the door to Kira's room was opened. She hadn't gone in there since she had dreamed about the murder. She took a deep breath before walking in and turning the light on. She shivered as she realized that the temperature was very different from the temperature in the hallway.

"Mai!" Mai whirled around and froze as she saw Naru standing in the doorway of the room with that same smirk on his face. She backed up until her back hit the wall opposite of the door. She looked over her shoulder and saw a window.

"You are, so far, the most difficult one to kill." Naru said as he neared her and Mai saw with wide scared eyes that he had a cutlery knife in hand. And she knew that he was going to try to make sure that he didn't fail this time.

"Look, I know Naru is in there somewhere! Please, get out of him!" Mai begged as she edged to the window and slowly began to unlatch the window and she pushed it up just enough without Naru noticing.

"Nice try, Mai. Naru is sleeping rather soundly. And when I finally leave him alone he is going to be holding a bloody knife with a dead girl at his feet." Naru said and Mai turned to the window and cried out as Naru's arm wrapped around her throat and she began to struggle, kicking out and scratching at his arm.

"LET GO!" she screamed as she tried to get away from him. She felt a burning sensation in her right arm and she looked down and saw blood trailing down to her hand and she felt her eyes widen. With all she had she elbowed Naru in the stomach and felt him pull away and she jumped out of the window and ran as fast as she could.

"_Mai!_" the girl stopped and saw the ghost girl standing there motioning for her to enter the forest located on the Shrine grounds/ Mai followed the ghost as she floated through the forest and climbed the tree Satchi pointed at.

"_This is the longest that I've ever seen him possess anybody. You shouldn't be out here by yourself!_" Satchi said and Mai looked up at the sky. Even the ghosts were telling her to be careful and here she was, dead! Mai watched as Naru entered the forest and she felt her body began to shake as he stopped beneath her tree.

"You really can't hide forever, Mai. If I stay in this boy much longer he'll die." Naru said and Mai was about to open her mouth before she saw Satchi appear in front of Naru.

"_Renara, you've killed the other girls without the help of a human._" Satchi said and Mai felt her eyes widen. That meant that the other girls that had went missing were definitely dead not just the ones that had been found. She saw Satchi look up at her and blink. She quietly climbed down the tree and ran back to the shrine where everyone was up in a panic.

"Mai…." Ayako growled and Mai held her hands up in defense.

"Wait a minute, I went to the bathroom and Naru found me on the way back. He had a knife. I hid in a tree until he disappeared. I tried to talk him down but it didn't work. I swear I had no intention of trying to find him!" Mai said in her best voice, trying to convince them even though she was lying.

"Mai, you know you aren't supposed to go out alone! Naru is out there and he is very dangerous." Takigawa said and Mai sighed before looking up at the monk.

"I know, Takigawa. It's just…what if Naru doesn't survive?" Mai asked and no one answered her and she dropped her head. She had known somehow that no one would be able to.

* * *

"Brown-san!" Mai gave a bright smile to the blonde haired man as he entered the shrine room where she was currently under 'house arrest' because of the possessed Naru. John returned the smile as he sat his suitcase down beside the door and took his jacket off and placing it over his suitcase.

"Hello, Taniyama-san. How are you?" Mai just smiled and nodded. "Good, well I suppose you aren't to interested in making small talk, especially with Shibuya-san's life being at stake."

"Yeah, Brown-san, I know that Naru wants to kill me because he is possessed but Naru is in just as much danger as I am." Mai whispered and John nodded, easily seeing the concern in Mai's brown eyes.

"Well, Lin-san and myself concocted a plan to hopefully lure Naru out long enough to exorcise the ghost. And you're going to have to be bait." John said and Mai blinked. "The ghost possessing Naru is only interested in you, Taniyama-san, because you are the only teenage girl on the grounds."

"So you want me to act as bait?" Mai asked and John nodded as he sat down beside her on the floor where she was sitting doing her homework that she had fallen behind in because of all the hours that Naru required her to work at the office.

"Yes, when Naru comes into the room I will attempt to exorcise the ghost from Naru and we're working on shortened time. Naru has been possessed nearly twenty-four hours. We were told as exorcists that the longest a person can be possessed is forty-eight hours, after that it's up to the person to survive the ghost's possession until someone can exorcise it." John explained and Mai felt her heart began to pound against her ribcage as tears threatened to spill.

"Don't worry, Mai. We'll be able to do this, he's got time left." John assured her and Mai smiled at him before nodding.

"Let's get this show on the road then." Mai said with a smile and John nodded.

* * *

Mai sat in the former base room and she sat in a chair twisting her skirt in her hands as they continued to shake. She stood up and went to the window and looked outside. They had been waiting for nearly three hours and Mai was beginning to get shaky. The longer they waited the more time Naru lost and the closer he got to being in serious danger.

'Naru…where are you? I know you're out there somewhere, you have to be…so please…come back.' Mai thought, worry was eating away at her. She massaged her arm where he'd been able to cut her the night before.

"Mai." Mai turned around and there he was. She was beginning to get freaked out by the way he could just pop up. She watched as Lin grabbed Naru from behind and John placed holy water on the struggling man's forehead and began the Lord's Prayer. Mai watched with bate breath before suddenly Naru went limp and John and Lin were pushed out of the room and the door was slammed shut.

"LIN!! JOHN!!" Mai screamed as she went to the door and tried to open the door but it refused to even budge. She struggled as Lin and John pounded on the door.

"It's stuck! Let me get something to open it!" John called and she heard hurried footsteps leaving the door.

Mai shivered as the temperature began to drop at an alarming rate. She shivered and looked over at where Naru had collapsed. She was scared to go around him thinking that he could be playing another trick. She wrapped her arms around her body as a shiver went down her spine before suddenly she stiffened and her eyes went wide. Her body started moving by itself.

'What's going on?' Mai thought as she went towards the table where she saw the knife had landed near in the struggle between Naru and Lin. She whimpered as she dropped to her knees and she forced her hand to stop as it reached for the knife.

'_Now, now, don't fight it, Mai, dear. If Naru can't kill you then I'll just make it a suicide._' Mai gasped as she recognized the voice as that of Renara, the man that had killed Satchi.

'Stop it! Get out of me and leave Naru alone!' Mai thought before she lost the battle and she took the knife in her hands and raised it above her. She felt tears in her eyes as the knife came down quickly.

"MAI!!!" blood spurted up into the air.

* * *

Umm...if I plead for my life will you let me live? runs away from angry reviewers I'll update soon, I promise!


	6. Chapter 5

Okay, I won't say anything. Just R&R!

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Chapter 5

Mai opened her eyes when she realized that she felt no pain. She gasped at what she saw. Naru was in front of her and she realized that she could feel his arms around her waist. She saw that her hands were holding the knife that was lodged deeply into Naru's left shoulder. Mai let go as shock paralyzed her body.

She watched Naru's eyes open before he moved a hand away from her waist and reached back and pulled the knife out and threw it away. Mai couldn't stop the smile from forming and before she could think better of it she hugged Naru.

"NARU! You're back!" she cried before looking up as Naru pushed her back slightly. She blinked as he gently brushed his fingers against the bruise forming on her throat and she waited as tears slowly spilled down her cheeks.

"Mai, he's going to try and possess me again and I doubt I'm going to be able to fight him. So listen closely, alright?" Mai nodded as she ripped part of her skirt and pressed it against Naru's injured shoulder.

"Okay, I'm listening." she whispered as she watched Naru wince as she put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Mai felt her breathing hitch as Naru's hand covered hers.

"I want you to dream, Mai. I know that you've had contact with the female apparition. But we need to know how the male died if we know that it will be easier to get rid of him. Tell Lin what you dream, Mai. I have to stay away from you." Naru whispered before he jumped out the window with the ripped piece of Mai's skirt still trapped between his fingers. Mai ran to the window and watched him disappear.

'Naru…you really are trying to protect me aren't you? Please…I don't care if I do get hurt…just keep yourself safe.' she thought. She heard a small crash but didn't turn around to look; she knew it was John and Lin. She was hoping to catch another glimpse of Naru.

"Mai, what happened?!" Mai finally turned around to look at the bloody knife that John was holding and she gave a sad smile.

"Naru protected me but now…he has to stay away from me so that if _he_ possesses him again Naru won't be near me. I…" Mai felt fatigue wash over her and she suddenly knew what was coming before she even felt her body hit Lin's as he caught her before she hit the floor.

* * *

The darkness was absolute and Mai felt as though she were suffocating in the darkness. She waited before slowly the ground began to appear along with the scenery and the temple. She looked around and sighed. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised that Naru hadn't showed up, she had told him to get lost.

"NARU! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I yelled I at you! I need your help!" Mai screamed into the air and she waited before she felt his presence drawing closed. She turned around and saw him walk out from the trees and towards her. She felt her heart jump into her throat as he stopped in front of her.

"Naru, I'm so sorry! I was mad at you, well the _real_ you, and I just snapped and I do need your help because I'm not exactly that good at this thing." Mai said softly before she felt his hands on her shoulders before she was pulled against his chest.

"Listen, Mai, this ghost is very angry and very dangerous. It's going to take everything all of you have." Naru whispered and Mai pulled back to look up at him and she nodded.

"You killed her!!!" Mai's attention was caught by the scream and she whirled around and saw a man, one she didn't recognize, pointing a gun at the ghost that was determined to kill her, Renara. Renara seemed to be unfazed by the gun that was being pointed at him.

"What?" Mai asked and she looked up at Naru, who had let her go and he shook his head.

"Renara was a terrible person in life, it would eventually catch up with him." Naru explained and Mai looked back at the two fighting men before she frowned in confusion.

"But who is that?!" she whispered.

"Look, kid, I don't care if she was your girlfriend or your fiancé. She was a pain in the read end and she was sticking her nose where it didn't belong. I had to get rid of her." Renara snarled and Mai flinched back and she felt Naru's hand on the middle of her back, supporting her.

"Well, then I'll just make sure that no one ever finds your body and if they do it will be so decomposed that they won't be able to tell how you die or who you are!" Mai felt a shiver go down her spine at the cold tone in the other man's voice before he shot his gun and Renara fell to the ground.

"Every…girl that enters this shrine…teenage…will die!" Mai watched as the two men disappeared and she turned to look at Naru who sighed.

"It's a verbal curse, which means at some point in time the curse was written down. And hidden somewhere." Naru said and Mai frowned. If Renara hadn't written the curse then who had?

Mai's eyes opened and she sat up before looking around, slightly surprised when she saw no one else was in the shrine with her. Mai climbed to her feet and went to where Lin usually sat and where the case file was. She opened it and looked at the dates of each of the disappearances of the girls.

'They all started disappearing almost two years ago…wait a minute. Two years ago…Kira moved in with Senata! Oh my god.' Mai thought before she ran out of the shrine. She didn't want to think it was Kira that had placed the curse but it was the only thing that made sense.

She stopped as she felt a hand grip her arm and she turned around and felt her eyes widen as she saw it was Kira that was holding her arm. She struggled against the blonde haired girl's grip and cried out as something hit her on the head, hard.

* * *

"Takigawa!" Lin entered the shrine with a very unconscious Naru supported on his shoulders. Takigawa jumped up and helped Lin sit Naru down in the chair and they both saw the wound on his shoulder. It took nearly fifteen minutes to get the wound cleaned up and get Naru to wake up.

"Look who decided to join us again. Are you Naru or are you that crazy ghost after Mai?" Takigawa asked sarcastically and Naru glared at him. "Oh, quit glaring at me. You were the one that didn't warn her…which raises a very good question. Why did you warn Masako and not Mai?" Naru didn't reply and looked away from the two men.

"I know why." Lin spoke up and he ignored the glare that Naru was shooting at him. In his opinion the man deserved this.

"Oh, really?" Takigawa was interested. That much was easy to tell. His eyes were light and he had leaned forward slightly in curiosity as Lin smirked.

"Yes…he called Masako and warned her but didn't tell Mai because he wanted to _protect_ her all by himself." Lin said and Naru was already planning the man's murder as Takigawa turned to look at Naru with the worst smile that anybody had ever given the young black haired man.

"Oooh…well, well, well…so Naru does have some sort of emotion in his body!" Takigawa cackled, ignoring the look that Naru was sending him.

"It would seem so." Lin agreed and Naru turned to glare at the older man, forcing his cheeks to not flame.

"Lin!" Naru snapped and both men chuckled at the angry look on Naru's face as he glared at the two men laughing at him.

"Hey, look, Lin-san, Naru's blushing! Naru is _blushing_!" Takigawa laughed and for the first time Takigawa heard Lin actually laugh.

"Takigawa! Lin!" Ayako burst into the room with John following close behind. "Naru?! Oh, you have got to be kidding me! We get one back only to have the other one go missing?!" she cried and all the men looked at her startled, the teasing forgotten.

"What are you talking about, Matsuzaki-san?" Naru asked calmly and Ayako sent him a look that clearly said 'duh!'. He raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed and shook her head at the man.

"Mai! She's missing! Senata came and told me that Mai wasn't in here so I went looking for her. I bumped in John and he started to help me. We have turned the whole temple upside down looking for that girl and she is nowhere! And a couple of minutes ago Senata got a call from whoever Kira was staying with and her niece has gone missing as well!" Ayako said in one breath and everyone looked at her, obviously impressed. "What? I had chorus when I was in high school!"

"That's been a long time ago." Takigawa mumbled before crying out as the enraged miko hit him over top the head with her fist. He sat on the ground glaring up at her as he cradled his injured head.

"Back on topic…when did Kira disappear?" Naru asked and Ayako looked up to meet the man's blue eyes.

"About three hours ago, at least that was her grandmother's estimate, she said she went to get something to eat and never came back. Naru, I think her disappearance and Mai's disappearance are related." Ayako said and Naru nodded.

"I see, you may be right, Ayako." Naru said as he turned to the screens, trying to hide the worry eating away at him. He had one choice to try and find Mai. And he knew Lin would be angry with him for doing that. But he wasn't going to see Mai in a coffin, she didn't belong to death. Not when he was watching over her.

* * *

Naru slipped out of his bed and with stealth went to where Mai's belongings were. He reached his hand out and drew it away just as quickly when a barrier kept him from touching any of the items. He frowned as he looked down at his hand before whirling around as he felt a set of eyes on his back. And there was Renara, the ghost that had possessed him and was looking determined.

"Now, now, Naru. Possessing you was just to benefit in the fact it would be easier to kill Mai but that I would know the psychic powers you possessed. Touching someone's personal belonging and being able to find them because of that…well that is quite amazing. But now that I know that power I can block it, rather easily." Renara said with a smirk on his face.

"Where is Mai?" Naru growled. Renara suddenly looked interested before he chuckled and he attempted to cover his mouth as though trying to hide the sound but not really making a true attempt to stop the sound.

"Oh, where is Mai? That's what you want to know? Well, if I tell you you'll save her won't you? Well, I won't allow that." Renara said and Naru narrowed his eyes as anger burned at him.

"If you do not tell me where she was I will curse you until the day you are exorcised." Naru hissed at him angrily and the ghost smirked at him before shrugging at the threat.

"There's nothing worse that you can do other than the fact that I was murdered. Sorry, but letting you find Mai is not an option of what I am going to do." Renara said as he crossed his arms and Naru could feel a growl start in his chest.

"If she dies, Renara, you can be assured that the rest of your afterlife will be _unpleasant._" Naru said in a dangerous voice and suddenly Renara chuckled before Naru reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of cloth that Renara recognized as part of his shirt. Naru wrapped his fingers tightly and imagined Renara's throat and suddenly the ghost fell to his knees clutching at his throat.

"What…are you…doing? Ghosts…don't…need…air…"Renara choked and Naru glared down at the kneeling ghost with cold blue eyes and Renara felt a shiver go down his nonexistent body.

"It's rather simple to control a ghost, especially when a person obtains something of the ghost's. Tell me where Mai is." Naru hissed and Renara glared at him before struggling to stand in front of the man.

"Go to hell." he said before disappearing and Naru cursed underneath his breath before turning back to Mai's things. He wouldn't be able to touch any of it, even if someone handed him the article.

'Mai…I'm sorry…I…failed.' Naru thought with his head bent and he clenched his hands so tightly that blood dripped from his hands and onto the floor and he stood there as guilt poured down on him. 'I'm sorry…I'm sorry that I failed you.'

* * *

Aww...Naru feels guilty. sticks tongue out at Naru You should have been nicer! 


	7. Chapter 6

Hello, readers! You know the drill! So hop to it!

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Chapter 6

"We've searched everywhere again and she's nowhere in sight." Ayako said as she slumped down in her chair. Naru looked up from the file; he had been trying to find a clue to where Mai was being held.

'Sight? Wait.' Naru thought as he flipped through the file quickly before he turned to look at Senata. "Ms. Hiro, have you replaced any floorboards in the shrine recently where the boards may be loose?" he asked and ignored the looks that he got from the other team members.

"Well, when Kira moved in we had to replace the floor in her room. There a few loose boards I think, but I don't see what this has to do with Mai's disappearance." everyone stared as Naru stood up and walked out of the shrine and towards the temple quickly. He entered Kira's room and stood in the doorway.

"Mai? Mai, can you hear me?" Naru called and silence engulfed him as he waited with bated breath before turning as no sound took his attention. He stopped as he heard a very light hitting sound. He whirled around. "Mai, do that again!" he called. The same tapping came from the middle of the room and he went there quickly.

"Mai!" he pinpointed the sound beneath two of the floorboards that were lose. He attempted to pry the boards up but they refused to move. He looked around for something to help him and frowned as there was nothing.

"Mai, I have to get something to pull these up!" Naru called into the floor boards and he heard a muffled voice.

"Hurry…I can't…breath…" he felt his heart stop before he jumped to his feet and ran to the base room, ignoring the looks and taking the crowbar that Lin always brought incase one of the nails that held the cameras in the wall got stuck. He ran back out and began to pry the boards up.

He finally uncovered Mai, unconscious and barely breathing. Naru reached into the whole under the floor that she had been put in and pulled her up. He laid her down on the floor and put his ear against her lip before starting to shake her.

"Mai! Mai! Wake up!" he shook her as hard as he could but Mai's head just snapped back and forth. He heard footsteps and he turned his head to see Lin and everyone else standing there looking shocked.

"Call an ambulance!" he growled before turning back to Mai, using every method known, minus slapping, to try and wake her up.

* * *

Darkness enshrouded her and she looked around, wondering if Naru would show up. Sure enough she saw the man walking towards her slowly. She saw that he looked disturbed when he stopped in front of her. She felt her heart start pounding at his gaze.

"Kira has been possessed by Renara so many times that I doubt she is truly Kira anymore. It would explain why she never spoke." Naru said and Mai frowned. She had only met her once and had never thought about the fact that Kira hadn't spoke.

"So…do you think Renara used her as a medium so that he could place the curse in writing?" Mai asked Naru nodded.

"Yes, Senata is to alert to have been possessed recently." he said and Mai snorted as she remembered his first encounter with Senata.

"I should know that. She was able to beat you in a verbal match." she giggled and she saw Naru raise his eyes and she gave a smile before Naru reached out and touched her forehead and she looked up at him innocently.

"Get some more rest, Mai." he whispered and she looked as though she were going to argue before he gave a firm shake of his head and Mai's face turned into a pout and his eyes smiled down at her before he kissed her forehead. Mai felt warmth spread from his lips down her body.

'Naru.'

* * *

The first thing Mai noticed when Mai returned to consciousness was the soft bed beneath her and the jackhammer that was pounding in her head. She gave a small moan and when she did she realized something was covering her mouth and nose. She opened her eyes and found herself looking up at a white ceiling. She reached up to pull the mask off before hand caught hers and her eyes flew to the man holding her hand and felt her eyes widen. Naru was standing there looking at her.

"You can't take that off until the doctor says so, Mai." he told her and Mai nodded before he released her hand and went back to his chair. Mai watched him for a minute thinking about how tired he looked. And then she remembered why she was in the hospital.

"Naru…Kira…she's…the responsible…one." Mai was able to get out with the mask on. Naru looked at her sharply, not completely believing what she was saying and she only nodded before he stood up.

"Mai, I'm going to send Ayako to the hospital to stay with you." Mai only smiled and nodded before making a shooing motion with her hand and Naru dashed out of the hospital.

* * *

"I see." Senata said after Naru had told her what Mai had told him. He had returned to base and looked through his file, comparing the dates the girls went missing to the date that Kira had moved into the temple. The first girl had disappeared three days after Kira had moved in.

"I should've known. Kira started acting so oddly. She would never come out of her room and refused to eat. I tried everything to get her out but…to no avail. I thought she was just homesick…but all this time she's been possessed hasn't she?" Senata looked resigned and Naru nodded.

"Yes. We need to know all the places that Kira had access to, it's very possible that she placed the written curse in one of those places. Lin made Mai keep a dream journal while she was here and I read it briefly. Apparently what she calls a 'spirit guide' told her that the only way the curse could be strong enough would be to have someone write it down." Naru said and everyone looked at him stunned as they had never heard him talk so much.

"She didn't go many places. She stayed in the shrine and her bedroom and she sometimes hid in my room whenever we cleaned hers." Senata said after thinking for a moment and Naru looked back at the journal he held in his hands.

"Do you know which room a man named Renara may have stayed in?" he asked before returning his gaze to Senata who paled at the name.

"My brother?" she whispered and Naru just nodded and she shook her head. "I should have known he would get into this mess. He was such a troublemaker. He had the room I have now. Go on, search it. If that curse is in there please destroy it and him." she said softly before turning and walking away.

"Well, guess we better get this over with." Takigawa said and they all left the shrine before entering Senata's room.

Thirty minutes later found Takigawa leaning against the door panting and pushing his dirty blonde bangs out of his face. He surveyed the room that they (excluding Naru who had refused to help) had turned upside down looking for the curse.

"It isn't in here." Takigawa said before sliding to the floor and soon John joined him, wiping his brow. Takigawa wondered how Mai was doing. Naru had been pale when the paramedics put her on oxygen and an IV in her arm. Takigawa considered it payback. Mai had had to watch the procedure enough on Naru.

"Yes, it is. Up there." Naru pointed at the dream catcher still hanging above Senata's bed. The teenagers climbed onto the bed and stood on it while taking the dream catcher down. "The curse is written on the outer circle. It looks as though that when Kira wrapped it she wrapped words into it, effectively creating the curse." Naru looked surprised and Takigawa couldn't say he was any better off.

"Naru, if it's written in thread only two people can actually destroy it. The person who made it, Kira, or the newest target, Mai." Lin told the man and Naru nodded.

"Well, Kira is currently missing and Mai is in the hospital." Takigawa pointed out and the black haired men turned to look at him.

"And it would be very dangerous to remove the curse from its original location. It could very possibly cause more damage than it already has." John also pointed out and Naru looked at Lin.

"Kira would not destroy this curse. Renara wants Mai dead to badly. Mai shouldn't be in the hospital for much longer." Naru said as he looked at the dream catcher that he held in his hands.

* * *

Mai held onto Naru's arm tightly. She was attempting to stay away from the steps leading up to the temple by digging her heels into the ground. Naru had told her what she needed to do and she had agreed. Until he had pulled up in front the temple and she had to say 'No way, José'. She refused to step foot on the temple grounds.

"No, no, no, no!" Mai shook her head when Naru turned to look back at her and he sighed.

"Mai, we can't take the curse off the grounds, it may cause more damage to the teenage girls of the world." Naru knew it sounded melodramatic but he had to play on Mai's sympathy so that they could get rid of the curse.

"Naru, that isn't going to work! I refuse to set foot on that ground!" Mai hissed. She could feel a headache coming on. Hadn't the doctors told him to _not_ stress her out at all?

"Fine." Mai sighed in relief as Naru finally agreed with her before screaming as her feet were scooped out from underneath her and Naru began to carry her up the steps quickly.

"What are you doing?!" she squealed as she tried to get away from him as he reached the top of the stairs and he looked down at her and answered with his 'Naru' voice.

"You said you weren't going to set foot on the ground. You aren't on the ground." he told her and Mai felt her face flush a brilliant red and hid her face in his shoulder. She couldn't believe that he had been able to find a way around her refusal! The man could give the answer 'no' but he wouldn't take it.

"Mai!" Naru set her on the floor of the shrine and gripped her shoulders to keep her from running. She was planning all the ways that she could torture Naru for making her stay. He was not going to be forgiven for carrying her somewhere that she had told him she did _not_ want to go.

"Hi, Ayako." Mai said as they priestess hugged her and Naru moved away. She watched him and he returned the glare that she had leveled on him as the others told her how glad they were she was alive and relatively unharmed.

"Mai, this will be hard, so listen closely." Mai turned to look at Lin interestedly and she saw that he was holding the dream catcher that Naru had told her about. She nodded. "You'll have to take the dream catcher and focus on it and nothing else. You may see what happened to the other girls but tell yourself that the only way to avenge them is to get rid of Renara." Lin told him and Mai reached out and took the dream catcher from him.

She closed her eyes and focused on the dream catcher in her hands. She felt something wash over her. A shiver went down her spine. She could see in her mind's eye as each girl was taken by Kira or Renara and they were killed by some sort of deadly method. She began to let go of the dream catcher before a pair of hands covered hers.

"Don't let go. If you let go you'll be dragged into the other world." Naru's voice whispered and Mai whimpered as another girl was killed in front of her eyes. She struggled slightly against Naru's hands but he tightened them in response. She could feel tears trailing down the sides of her face.

"Naru…" she whimpered and Naru continued to hold her hands tightly as the images flew across her mind. She tried to ignore them but they kept playing and she could feel the tears speeding up.

"_Mai-chan, it's alright. We're free now._" Mai could now see Satchi standing in front of her with no background and Mai manage to give a small smile. "_Renara's gone and Kira may not speak again but she can go back to not being afraid. You'll find her in her room asleep._"

"But what about the other girls? We need to find their bodies." Mai whispered and Satchi smiled tenderly at Mai.

"_You remind me so much of Senata. They are all buried under the elm tree in the middle of the forest. Thank you so much, Mai_." Satchi faded and Mai opened her eyes before releasing the now black dream catcher and letting it fall.

"Mai?" Naru whispered to the girl and catching her as she went limp and fell back against his chest. Naru gave her a hidden smile that no one else saw. "Good job, Mai."

"Naru…" she whispered before her she rested her head and fell sound asleep against young man.

* * *

Before anyone says anything, no! This is_ **not**_ the end, I still have a trick up my sleeve...or may be I should say_ Renara_ has a trick up his sleeve. If you want to know review so I'll be inspired! 


	8. Chapter 7

Well, this is the last chapter...I have an epilogue coming up and that's where most of the romance will be all though there is some in this chapter. Please Review. And thank you so very much to those that have done so already.

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Chapter 7 

Mai was in the office cleaning when the phone rang. She ran to the phone with a duster in her hand and answered. For a moment she didn't think anyone was going to answer her as she stood there tapping the duster against her hip.

"Mai-chan?" Mai frowned as she didn't recognize the voice and wondered who on earth it was. "It's Kira, Senata's niece. I don't think Renara is gone. The girls are still disappearing. Could you please ask Shibuya-san if you could come out here again?"

"I'll talk to him, Kira. But I can't promise that he'll listen because he usually doesn't but I can give it a try." Mai assured the young girl on the other end of the phone line and she heard a click as Kira hung up the phone. Mai frowned before hanging up and turning to Naru's office and entering without knocking causing the man to glare at her but she ignored the look.

"Naru, Senata's niece called and said that the girls were still disappearing. She seems to think that Renara wasn't forced to leave." Mai said and Naru raised an eyebrow at her.

"It really isn't our concern, Mai. You told us that Satchi told you that Renara had been forced to leave. And if Kira is telling the truth then you shouldn't have trusted Satchi so much." Naru said and Mai felt her anger flare. She could stand the snide comments about her intelligence and ordering her around but when he questioned her trust. She wasn't going to take that.

"Well I can trust her a lot more than I could you! You didn't even warn me and yet you tried to kill me! Possessed or not you still tried to choke and stab me! You are always getting me into some sort of life threatening position. But when the time could really count do you tell me? No! You call Masako!

"You know what I think, Naru? I think that you're going to have to earn what little trust I had left in you after that comment. I'm leaving and if you need me, and it better be damned important if you do, I will be at Senata's temple trying to figure out what's going on. I'd rather not have you protecting me; it seems every time you try I end up hurt!" Mai said as tears welled in her eyes before she turned and left the office while leaving a very stunned Naru in her wake.

* * *

'What a jerk! How dare he question who I trust?! How dare he?!' Mai thought as she stomped down the sidewalk. She hailed a cab and pouted all the way to the temple and paid the cab driver before stomping up the stairs, forcing herself to not think about she had ascended the stairs in Naru's arms. 

'I trusted him so much and then he goes and says that! Maybe he never trusted me to begin with. Why should he? I'm just his assistant…the person that does almost everything for him!' she thought as she stopped on the steps before sitting down and placing her head in her hands.

'I'm such a mess. That man drives me crazy…why can't he treat me like a human? A normal human that has emotions as well?' Mai questioned before she sniffed and wiped at her eyes. 'I can't let this affect me. Senata and Kira need my help and if I'm the only one that will attempt to help then so be it.'

Mai stood up and finished going up the steps and looking around the temple grounds and sighing as she didn't see anyone. Her eyes were drawn to the shrine. She walked towards it and entered. It was dark and she could see the cables still on the ground where Lin had left them, promising to come and get them later.

'Why didn't destroying the curse make Renara go away? It released all the girl ghosts, Satchi said so. But why didn't Renara leave, he let Kira go but he's still taking any teenage girl that comes here.' Mai thought before turning as she heard someone clear their throat.

"Hello, Mai. Somehow I knew you'd be showing up again." Senata said and Mai sighed before turning back around to look at the shrine. She glanced at Senata before throwing herself into Senata's arms and crying loudly. She felt Senata patting her on the back as she let it all out.

* * *

"I'm sorry about crying." Mai said as she stared down into the coffee cup that Senata had handed her once they entered the kitchen. She looked up to see the woman smiling at her as she stirred sugar into her own cup. 

"It isn't a problem, Mai. Although I would like to know why you were so upset." Senata said as she took a seat across from Mai. Mai looked up at the woman and she sighed as tears welled.

"Naru…questioned who I trusted on this case. I mean where does he get off? He tried to kill me the whole stinking time! Who does he think he is? I know very well who I can and can't trust!" Mai stood up angrily before she blinked as Senata suddenly started laughing and she stared as the old woman wiped at her eyes. Mai hear another younger laugh and she turned to see Kira standing in the kitchen doorway smiling.

"You really care about this 'Naru' guy don't you?" Kira asked and Mai felt her jaw drop open as her cheeks flamed before she sat down hard and crossed her arms and felt her heart pounding against her ribcage.

"She put her life in danger several times to _protect_ him from Renara, who had possessed him. He nearly succeeded in killing her once or twice." Senata said and Mai sighed before the phone suddenly rang and Senata answered it. She turned to look at Mai and handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Mai asked and waited for the person to answer. If it was Naru she was going to kill him, she really didn't want anything to do with him at the moment.

"Mai, Naru called me in a complete rage and wouldn't tell me anything except for the fact that you had gone back to the temple." Takigawa said over the phone and Mai quenched the anger she was feeling at Naru for even telling anyone else.

"Well, tell Naru to go to hell! Kira called me and told me that the girls are still disappearing and undoubtedly dead by now, Bou-san. Which means that destroying that curse didn't destroy Renara." Mai said and she heard Takigawa's intake of breath as she stopped talking.

"Then there's only one explanation. The curse you destroyed was the curse that trapped the girl's souls trapped at the temple. Wait a minute…why didn't I think of this before?! Mai, the curse that is letting Renara kill those girls isn't written down like your 'spirit guide' told you.

"There is a type of curse that is…mobile? I guess that would be an accurate word, but I've never heard of a ghost being able to place it!" Takigawa said and Mai sighed as she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Bou-san! Calm down! What on earth are you talking about?" Mai asked amidst Takigawa's babbling.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry. This type of curse can be placed on anybody; it isn't specific to one single person. A person places a curse on an object or room. They can make it age specific and gender specific. The curse is activated to that person when they touch the object or enter the room and leaving something of theirs behind.

"The curse Renara placed undoubtedly allows him to touch the girl so that he can kill them. And sometimes he may possess someone close to that girl so that he can kill them." Takigawa finished and Mai felt her eyes widen.

"Oh, no." Mai whispered.

"Mai, is something wrong?" Takigawa asked and Mai sighed.

"I know how the curse is activated. It's in Kira's room, not surprising since Kira was possessed by Renara for a long time. But when I was setting the camera up in there I pricked my finger and I think some of my blood dropped on the floor." Mai whispered and she heard Takigawa sigh.

"Oh, Mai, that's the strongest way of cursing somebody. I'm coming over there right now! Stay with Senata or Kira, I doubt Renara will possess her again, and _stay away from that room_." Takigawa said and there was a click on the other end of the line. Mai sighed before hanging up and handing the phone back to Senata who looked at her interestedly.

"Renara is still here and the case is a whole lot more complicated than any of us thought." Mai whispered before she met Senata's eyes and the older woman gave her a kind smile.

"Well, then you are certainly not allowed to go anywhere alone." Senata winked and Kira and Mai laughed.

* * *

"College really isn't that hard, Mai." Kira said as she peeled a potato for dinner. Mai had learned that Kira was her age, sixteen, but had entered college at the age of fifteen after having skipped two grades. Mai was convinced that the girl would get along with Naru, or would have if she hadn't been possessed the whole time. 

"Easy for you to say. My grades aren't exactly excellent to begin with and I mean I have this job, how I am supposed to work and go to college at the same time?" Mai asked as she took the potato from Kira and put it in the pot of boiling water on the stove.

"Well, you could apply for enough scholarships so that you could at least take a leave of absence from work and focus on your college studies!" Kira said with a smile and Mai nodded as the suggestion did interest her. And she did want to go to college.

"Mai?" both girls turned around to see Senata standing there with an amused smile on her face and a raised eyebrow.

"There's someone waiting for you in the first base room." she said and Mai wiped her hands on her skirt before following Senata into the room and stopping short when she saw Naru sitting in the room looking rather…well, _angry_ and _mad_ were two very good words to describe how Naru looked. Mai was about to grab Senata as the older woman left her alone with Naru.

"Naru…what are you doing here?" she asked, forcing herself to not stutter as Naru stood up. His normally cool eyes were on fire and Mai felt fear grip her as she knew this wasn't a ghost's anger but Naru's anger.

"What am _I_ doing here? Well, let's see, Mai. You have had the strongest curse placed on you and the ghost that placed it isn't gone. You came here knowing very well Renara was not gone and knew that he would target you. Hell, Mai, you take off from the office and come to the most dangerous place that we've been so far!" Naru gritted through his teeth and Mai could feel a shiver go down her spine.

"They need our help, Naru! It isn't my fault you didn't figure out that Renara hadn't disappeared! It isn't my fault that _you_ got possessed. It isn't my fault that _you_ tried to kill me!" Mai snapped at him and she could have sworn that she saw him flinch.

"Mai…" he growled as he took a step towards her before freezing in his steps and Mai looked at him curiously. She knew what happened when his eyes closed and he put a hand to his head. Mai turned around and pulled at the door but found it was stuck, again.

She cried out as she was pushed against the wall with Naru's hand on her throat. She realized that he wasn't trying to strangle her, yet. She looked up and could imagine Renara staring down at her with that same smirk on his face.

"I swear, you are the most difficult person I've met to kill. And trust me I've killed enough people in time alive and my time as a ghost." Naru said and Mai winced as he tightened his grip around her throat.

"But why? Why are you so desperate to kill teenage girls?" Mai whispered to the possessed man while trying to figure out how to get away from him. Naru might have a slight build compared to other men but he was still bigger than Mai.

"Because they are all so annoying! Every last one of you try to get into someone else's business and make yourself part of it. I figure I'm doing the world a favor by getting rid of as many as I can." he said in a matter-of-fact voice and Mai struggled as his hand tightened on her throat and he lifted her up the wall. "So, bye-bye, Mai. It's been fun."

'I don't want to die...Naru…help…how can I stop this?' Mai thought as she closed her eyes while trying to block the pain as Naru's hand kept tightening around her throat. 'I have to get his hand away!' she reached up and grabbed his hand in both of hers and pulled as hard as she could but it was no use.

"Nice try." Naru snickered and Mai focused every ounce of strength she had in her hands and pulled his hand away and landed on her feet. She opened her eyes and saw the startled look in Naru's eyes. She also saw his eyes flicker back to the cool blue before fading back to black.

"NARU!! Get out of him! GET OUT OF HIM!!" Mai screamed as she wrapped her arms around Naru's body. She cried against his chest as fear consumed her heart. She may have been angry at Naru but she didn't want to lose him.

Renara could feel, rather than see, the seal of the curse begin to crack. He could feel the control he had over Naru's body. He struggled to keep control over the man's body so that he could finish Mai off. He growled, how was the damn girl breaking his curse?

"I won't let you kill anyone else, Renara! Get out of Naru right now and go away forever!!" Mai screamed and Renara felt the seal break completely and he screamed as his ghostly body disappeared slowly and he left Naru, for good.

Mai looked up at Naru and saw that his eyes had gone blank. She waited with bated breath, hoping fervently that Renara was gone. She could have sworn that as she had been hugging him she had felt something change in the atmosphere of the temple, almost as though a terrible danger had been lifted.

"Mai?" Naru asked and Mai couldn't stop the smile that formed on her lips as she stared up at him. She could feel tears in her eyes and felt those same eyes widen as Naru hugged her tightly and she closed her eyes, appreciating the moment as he held her tightly against his chest.

"I will never let this happen again, Mai. I will never let someone hurt you again, dead or not." he whispered and though Mai had sworn she wouldn't trust him again she found herself believing him. That and the fact that he seemed rather vulnerable at the moment and she pulled back to look up at him.

"Can I have a raise?" she asked hopefully.

"No." he replied and she sighed.

"Yep, you're Naru." she said with a smile before blinking as he kissed her on the forehead. "I think."

"Let's just say…I've become fond of having you around." he said and Mai blinked before she felt something very soft brush her lips and when she realized that it was _his_ lips, he was already gone.

"He's fond of me?" she whispered in happiness as she touched her lips and a smile spread across her face.

* * *

Well, well, well...little Naru has grown a heart. _Kieno sees Naru glaring at her._ Um...I think I'll run now! Bye! 


	9. Epilogue

Okay people, this is the end of Possession. But I am working on the rest of the Return series and a much longer multi-chapter story...but unless you review I won't post them! I love my reviewers! _Author does happy dance._

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Epilogue

Mai sat staring at her desk. It was the weekend and Kira had called to say that she and Senata were going away for the weekend and they wanted to thank SPR again for getting rid of Renara. That had been the high point of Mai's day. One little phone call from their former clients. Her mood certainly wasn't helped when Masako entered the office and dragged Naru out to eat, leaving Mai alone as Lin had not shown up for work. Naru had told her that the man had a cold.

She tapped her pencil on the desk as she listened to the clock counting down the minutes she had left until she could leave. Normally she wasn't so anxious but when there was no one to talk to or have arguments with…the day went by at an extremely slow pace. And Mai was beginning to get seriously agitated over the fact that she had nothing to do.

'Stupid Naru! He tells me that he's 'fond' of me then he goes on a date with Masako! I bet he was just lying to me so I would beat him to a pulp for following me to the temple! I wish I didn't care so much!' Mai thought sadly. She stood up and walked towards the kitchen and began to make herself a cup of tea.

Mai waited for the pot of water to heat up and when the whistle went off she quickly poured herself a cup. She took her teacup into the small waiting room and sat down on the couch and sipped at her tea while watching the clock. If Naru wasn't back by three o'clock she was going to leave and let him get in by himself. She was not going to be like a meek little wife that was waiting for her husband to show up.

Mai looked up as the door opened and in strolled Naru. She watched him take his coat off before he turned and walked towards his office. She frowned before setting her cup down and leaning back on the couch and crossing her arms angrily as she pouted over the fact that Naru hadn't so much as looked at her. The door to his office reopened and he poked his head out.

"Mai, tea." he said before closing the door and Mai sighed, that's all he had been saying to her ever since they left the temple. She prepared his cup and went into his office and set the tea down in front of Naru.

"How was your lunch?" she asked amiably, she might as well be friendly even if he never returned the courtesy to her. She wouldn't mind if he did but she knew somehow that he never would.

"Fine." he replied and Mai held back her growl of frustration, though she didn't realize that she had let a little slip. She rolled her eyes before turning away to leave the office.

"Are you jealous?" his voice caused her to whirl around startled and she looked at him startled.

"Jealous? Of what?" she asked, glad that her voice didn't squeak. She had a very good feeling that she knew what he was talking about.

"Let's see. Masako dragged me out of the office to go on a 'date'. When I get back you are sitting on the couch, looking as though you are in the foulest mood that I have ever seen. Then you come in here and don't even stand there staring at me waiting for me to say something. Are you jealous?" he asked and Mai could feel her cheeks flame and she looked at the floor.

"No! I'm…I'm not jealous!" she said to the floor, praying that it would open up beneath her and swallow her whole. She didn't want to let him see her blushing and knowing that he would never let her live it down.

"Well, that's very good." Mai felt her eyes widen when Naru tipped her head up and she met his ice blue eyes. She could feel her breathing hitch as he bent down to her ear and she could feel her breathing hitch as he breathed against her ear.

"Yes, that's excellent that you aren't jealous. Because, you see, I'm a very jealous man, Mai." he whispered and Mai watched him pull back before his lips pressed against hers firmly and she wrapped her arms around his neck before they pulled apart and Mai just knew that her face was flaming.

"But what do you have to be jealous of, Naru?" Mai asked and she saw Naru's eyes softened and if she hadn't known better she would have bet all her belongings that she was dreaming because of the soft way Naru was looking at her.

"If you haven't noticed the way men look at you I will not inform you of it." he replied."Now go back to your desk. We may get another case that interests me." he went back to his desk and Mai smiled before she turned away. But when she reached the door she turned to look at him and he looked up curiously.

"Hey, Naru…I love you." she winked at him and she saw his eyes widen slightly before going back to their normal size and she saw him smirk at her.

"That's good, Mai, because you belong to me." he replied and Mai gave a small squeak before rushing out of his office and shutting the door behind her firmly and Naru leaned back in his seat with his hands folded on his stomach.

'Maybe now I'll get to kiss her more often.' Naru thought before he returned to his files, the one thing he might have loved just as much as Mai. They both brought happiness to his life.

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Hope you enjoyed! 


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